UIC Barcelona hosted on 18 March, in the Saló de Graus on the Barcelona Campus, the session Expedición antártica. La investigación científica y el apoyo del Ejército de Tierra (‘Antarctic expedition. Scientific research and the support of the Spanish Army’). The event, organised by the Faculty of Humanities, emphasised the value of scientific research in Antarctica and the cooperation between civilian and military institutions.
The session was opened by Jordi Bermejo, vice-dean of the Faculty of Humanities, who underlined the importance of this collaboration, noting that “it is, in itself, a lesson in how knowledge advances more effectively when it is built collaboratively”. He was referring to the shared work of scientists and military personnel at the Antarctic base. The welcome remarks also included contributions from César de Cea Quijano, commanding general of the Third Pyrenean General Sub-Inspection and military commander of Barcelona and Tarragona, and Lluís Calvo, anthropologist, historian of science and CSIC delegate in Catalonia.
The programme continued with a round table featuring leading experts from scientific and military fields: Jordi Sorribas Cervantes, director of the Marine Technology Unit at the CSIC; Antonio Villaseñor, senior scientist at the Institute of Marine Sciences (CSIC); and Javier Moreno Amatriain, lieutenant colonel and head of the 38th Antarctic Campaign.
Live connection with the base
One of the highlights of the session was a live link with the Gabriel de Castilla Antarctic Base, allowing attendees to learn first-hand about daily life on the mission and the realities of working in such an extreme environment.
The programme also included the testimony of commander Javier Abizanda, head of the 39th Antarctic Campaign. Having led the previous mission, he shared his experience preparing the team to face particularly demanding weather conditions over several months. He also highlighted one of the major projects of the recent campaign: the construction of a new scientific module to strengthen the base’s research capacity.
The session explored the main research projects currently being carried out in Antarctica, particularly in areas such as volcanology, biodiversity, the microbiome, climate studies and melting processes, as well as the significant logistical and human challenges involved in the mission.
In this context, Bermejo also stressed the importance of the humanities within scientific research, remarking that “data need a narrative; discoveries must be communicated, contextualised, debated and understood by society”, and that “the human dimension of research, including why we investigate, how we do it and the values that guide our decisions, is an area where the humanities cannot and should not be absent”.
With initiatives such as this, UIC Barcelona reaffirms its commitment to knowledge dissemination and to strengthening the connection between the University and major global scientific challenges through the Faculty of Humanities.
